Five Facts Thursday - please welcome Nicole Evelina

Five Facts about Daughter of Destiny

1. This book is a historical fantasy with strong romantic elements, as opposed to a traditional historical romance, because you won’t see the happily ever after until the end of trilogy.       As far as I know, 
2. I’m the first author to pair Guinevere and Aggrivane. But, this was an intentional choice in that traditionally, Mordred and Aggrivane are the ones who betray Guinevere and Lancelot to Arthur. Once you read Daughter of Destiny, you’ll know why Aggrivane was involved in that bit of nastiness.
3. Daughter of Destiny took 15 years to write, starting in college when I was 19. It was a hobby then and I had no idea it would ever be published. It was originally only supposed to be one book, but grew into a trilogy. Now, it’s also spawned two spinoffs, one telling Morgan’s story and one telling that of Tristan and Isolde. Those will be written soon.
4.  It was inspired by Marion Zimmer Bradley’s The Mists of Avalon. I loved the book, but I really disliked her portrayal of Guinevere. This led me want to write my own to explore what happened to Guinevere before and after her life with Arthur. My goal in writing it is to rehabilitate the much-maligned character of Guinevere and show the context for the actions that have been given to her throughout the literary evolution of Arthurian legend.
5. I traveled to England twice to research the Guinevere trilogy, consulting with internationally acclaimed author and historian Geoffrey Ashe, as well as Arthurian/Glastonbury expert Jaime George, the man who helped Marion Zimmer Bradley research The Mists of Avalon.

Title: Daughter of Destiny

Subtitle: Guinevere’s Tale, Book 1

Genre: Historical Fantasy

Time Period: 491-496 AD (Dark Ages/Early Middle Ages)

Location: England

Publisher: Lawson Gartner Publishing

Pages: 326 (print)

Formats: ebook, print, audio

Sellers: Amazon, Barnes & Noble.com, iBooks, Kobo, Smashwords, IngramSpark,

Inktera, Baker & Taylor Blio, Library Direct, Baker-Taylor Axis360, OverDrive, Oyster, Scribd, Gardners Extended Retail, Yuzu, Tolino, Odilo, Gardners Library, EbooksareForever, OmniLit.com, Drivethroughfiction, Indiebound, Best Indie Bookstore

Before queenship and Camelot, Guinevere was a priestess of Avalon. She loved another before Arthur, a warrior who would one day betray her.

In the war-torn world of late fifth century Britain, young Guinevere faces a choice: stay with her family to defend her home at Northgallis from the Irish, or go to Avalon to seek help for the horrific visions that haunt her. The Sight calls her to Avalon, where she meets Morgan, a woman of questionable parentage who is destined to become her rival. As Guinevere matures to womanhood, she gains the powers of a priestess, and falls in love with a man who will be both her deepest love and her greatest mistake.

Just when Guinevere is able to envision a future in Avalon, tragedy forces her back home, into a world she barely recognizes, one in which her pagan faith, outspokenness, and proficiency in the magical and military arts are liabilities. When a chance reunion with her lover leads to disaster, she is cast out of Northgallis and into an uncertain future. As a new High King comes to power, Guinevere must navigate a world of political intrigue where unmarried women are valuable commodities and seemingly innocent actions can have life-altering consequences.

You may think you know the story of Guinevere, but you’ve never heard it like this: in her own words. Listen and you will hear the true story of Camelot and its queen.

Fans of Arthurian legend and the Mists of Avalon will love Daughter of Destiny, the first book in a historical fantasy trilogy that gives Guinevere back her voice and traces her life from an uncertain eleven year old girl to a wise queen in her fifth decade of life.

Early Praise

"A gripping read that brings a wonderfully depicted Guinevere tumbling out of the shadows of myth." - Anna Belfrage, author of The Graham Saga

"Colorful and exciting...love all the characters. You will have a ball with this book." - Serena Scott Thomas, actress and audio book narrator

"Nicole Evelina shows a deep and passionate love for the Arthurian world, and her re-weaving of the story of Guinevere and Arthur makes for enjoyable reading. With more volumes to come, if you like stories of Camelot, ancient priesthoods, magical Avalonian dreams and embattled romance, this is for you." - John Matthews, author of 'Arthur of Albion' and 'The Camelot Oracle'

Excerpt

I am Guinevere.

I was once a queen, a lover, a wife, a mother, a priestess, and a friend. But all those roles are lost to me now; to history, I am simply a seductress, a misbegotten woman set astray by the evils of lust.

This is the image painted of me by subsequent generations, a story retold thousands of times. Yet, not one of those stories is correct. They were not there; they did not see through my eyes or feel my pain. My laughter was lost to them in the pages of history.

I made the mistake of allowing the bards to write my song. Events become muddled as ink touches paper, and truth becomes malleable as wax under a flame. Good men are relegated to the pages of inequity, without even an honest epitaph to mark their graves.

Arthur and I were human, no more, no less, though people choose to see it differently. We loved, we argued, we struggled, all in the name of a dream, a dream never to be fulfilled. Camelot is what fed the fires that stirred us to do as we did. History calls it sin, but we simply called it life.

The complexity of living has a way of shielding one’s eyes from the implications of one’s role. That is left for others to flesh out, and they so often manipulate it to suit their own needs. To those god-awful religious, I have become a whore; Arthur the victim of a fallen Eve; Morgan, a satanic faerie sent to lead us all astray. To the royalty, we have become symbols of the dreams they failed to create and Arthur is the hero of a nation, whereas to me, he was simply a man. To the poor, we are but a legend, never flesh and blood, a haunting story to be retold in times of tribulation, if only to inspire the will to survive.

We were so much more than mute skeletons doomed to an eternity in dust and confusion. We were people with a desire for life, a life of peace that would be our downfall. Why no one can look back through the years and recognize the human frailty beneath our actions, I will never understand. Some say grace formed my path; others call it a curse. Whatever it was, I deserve to be able to bear witness before being condemned by men who never saw my face.

It ends now. I will take back my voice and speak the truth of what happened. So shall the lies be revealed and Camelot’s former glory restored. Grieve with me, grieve for me, but do not believe the lies which time would sell. All I ask is that mankind listen to my words, and then judge me on their merit.